Susanne Schmögner

The Spirit of the Woods, 1992

Artwork Brief Description

Perched among hydrangeas, Schmögner’s golden bronze sculpture embodies mystery and transformation. As the seasons change, it alternates between being hidden and revealed. Its solemn, military-like presence suggests both protection and surveillance, creating an interplay of playfulness and latent danger. The piece seamlessly blends into nature, reinforcing the artist’s fascination with ambiguity and the unseen.

The Spirit of the Woods, 1992

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Susanne Schmögner was one of the very first and most significant contributors to the Heller garden from the moment André Heller decided to start the project. They often collaborated on artistic projects together, beginning with his 1987 “Luna Luna”. For this Schmögner created something that was truly original and inventive, far from the traditional world of picture galleries and museums, it was a wholly immersive experience. She made a spiral-shaped labyrinth from hand-painted sets of gridded and coiled lines, in which she incorporated flocks of birds and tumbling flowers. She created a black and gold deity-like sculpture at the centre of the labyrinth, next to whom a smaller cat-like figure handed viewers a copy of French Symbolist poet Arthur Rimbaud’s “Golden Age”. The text of Rimbaud’s poem speaks of the power of works of art to transcend reality, something that Schmonger strives for in her practice.

Her work in Gardone began with the decoration of the ticket office, transforming something functional into something fantastic. The mere act of decorating the ticket office is a perfect metaphor for Schmögner’s art, disguising the everyday in order to challenge our beliefs of what is real and what is imagined.

The idea of art being able to suspend our disbelief is at the very core of her practice.

Susanne Schmögner (Austrian b. 1939) Spirito del bosco (The Spirit of the Woods), 1992

Susanne Schmögner’s golden bronze “Spirit of the Woods” is set high amidst a beautiful mound of hydrangeas. When the flowers are in bloom, only the top of the sculpture is visible and in winter more of its form is revealed. Its mere location therefore creates a constant change with the seasons, and the revealing and covering nature suggests an element of play or hide and seek.

When approaching the sculpture front, the eyes appear awake and alert, looking not at the viewer but up into the distance. The solemn expression and alert appearance combined with the suggestion of a hat give the whole sculpture a military feel, as if, perhaps, this is the defender of the garden, hidden amongst the vegetation and patiently observing all that goes on. The game of hide and seek could be both an introduction to innocence and also a suggestion of the hidden dangers that the sculpture needs to protect us from.

Despite the large size and golden surface there is something very natural about Schmögner’s sculpture. The almost tear drop shape of the face itself blends into the surrounding foliage and gives the whole sculpture a very organic feeling.